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Commercial production of staked tomatoes in the Southeast : including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina

Commercial production of staked tomatoes in the Southeast : including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina - Page 19

17
TRANSPLANTS
Source of Tomato Plants
Good-quality transplants that are free of disease and insect pests are crucial to profitable tomato production. Only home-grown or certified plants (those that have been inspected by the state department of agriculture and are certified to be free of disease and insect pests) should be set.
Transplants may be grown locally in outdoor beds and set as bare root or “slick-root” plants, or they may be produced in various types of growing structures in containerized trays. Slick-root plants usually are less expensive, but they are more susceptible to weather and pest hazards and vary more in size and quality. They are also subject to greater transplant shock and should not be set through black plastic. Producing container plants, on the other hand, requires greater management skill and more specialized growing facilities.
Although there are some definite advantages to growing your own tomato transplants, much of the staked acreage in the Southeast is set with commercially grown, containerized transplants produced in Florida and Georgia. Most states have plant certification laws and inspection systems aimed at assuring disease-free plants of good quality. For example, the North Carolina Vegetable Plant Law requires that only certified plants be sold in the state. A plant inspection system helps enforce the law. Growers and those who supply plants to growers should know the reputation of the plant producer and accept shipped-in plants only if:
They carry the producer’s certification and • variety name.
They have been inspected and approved by a • state plant inspector.
They are of the size and quality specified in the • order.
Growers should contract early with their greenhouse producers to secure plants of the varieties they want to grow and for the time they need them. Growers should expect to plant between 3,600 and 5,800 plants per acre in a staked tomato operation, depending on plant spacing.
Transplant Production
Expect to produce about 4,000 transplants per ounce of seed. Approximately 3 ounces is required to produce 10,000 seedlings. For example, to produce 10 acres of tomatoes with 5,800 plants per acre would require 58,000 transplants and about 18 ounces of seed (rounding up to 60,000 plants). Many seed companies no longer sell seed by weight but by count and will supply the germination rate as well. The count and germination rate can be used to estimate the amount of seed to plant to produce the desired number of plants. For example, to produce 58,000 seedlings from seed with 90 percent germination would require 64,445 seed (58,000 divided by 0.90).
Tomato seedlings are usually produced in trays or flats that are divided into cells. Tomatoes require a cell size of approximately 1 inch square to produce a high-quality, easily handled transplant. These trays or flats are available in a number of configurations and sizes. They may be purchased
Table 4. Plant tissue analysis ranges for various elements for tomato sampled at the first-ripe-fruit stage using most recently mature leaves
Statustatustatus
N
P
K
Ca
Mg
S
Percent
Deficient
2.0
0.2
2.0
1.0
0.25
0.3
Adequate
2.0 – 3.5
0.2 – 0.4
2.0 – 4.0
1.0 – 2.0
0.25 – 0.5
0.3 – 0.6
High
3.5
0.4
4.0
2.0
0.5
0.6
Statustatustatus
Fe
Mn
Zn
B
Cu
Mo
Parts per Million
Deficient
40
30
20
20
5
0.2
Adequate
40 – 100
30 – 100
20 – 40
20 – 40
5 – 10
0.2 – 0.6
High
100
100
40
80
10
0.6
N—nitrogen
P—phosphorus
K—potassium
Ca—calcium
Mg—magnesium
S—sulfur
Fe—iron
Mn—manganese
Zn—zinc
B—boron
Cu—copper
Mo—molybdenum

17
TRANSPLANTS
Source of Tomato Plants
Good-quality transplants that are free of disease and insect pests are crucial to profitable tomato production. Only home-grown or certified plants (those that have been inspected by the state department of agriculture and are certified to be free of disease and insect pests) should be set.
Transplants may be grown locally in outdoor beds and set as bare root or “slick-root” plants, or they may be produced in various types of growing structures in containerized trays. Slick-root plants usually are less expensive, but they are more susceptible to weather and pest hazards and vary more in size and quality. They are also subject to greater transplant shock and should not be set through black plastic. Producing container plants, on the other hand, requires greater management skill and more specialized growing facilities.
Although there are some definite advantages to growing your own tomato transplants, much of the staked acreage in the Southeast is set with commercially grown, containerized transplants produced in Florida and Georgia. Most states have plant certification laws and inspection systems aimed at assuring disease-free plants of good quality. For example, the North Carolina Vegetable Plant Law requires that only certified plants be sold in the state. A plant inspection system helps enforce the law. Growers and those who supply plants to growers should know the reputation of the plant producer and accept shipped-in plants only if:
They carry the producer’s certification and • variety name.
They have been inspected and approved by a • state plant inspector.
They are of the size and quality specified in the • order.
Growers should contract early with their greenhouse producers to secure plants of the varieties they want to grow and for the time they need them. Growers should expect to plant between 3,600 and 5,800 plants per acre in a staked tomato operation, depending on plant spacing.
Transplant Production
Expect to produce about 4,000 transplants per ounce of seed. Approximately 3 ounces is required to produce 10,000 seedlings. For example, to produce 10 acres of tomatoes with 5,800 plants per acre would require 58,000 transplants and about 18 ounces of seed (rounding up to 60,000 plants). Many seed companies no longer sell seed by weight but by count and will supply the germination rate as well. The count and germination rate can be used to estimate the amount of seed to plant to produce the desired number of plants. For example, to produce 58,000 seedlings from seed with 90 percent germination would require 64,445 seed (58,000 divided by 0.90).
Tomato seedlings are usually produced in trays or flats that are divided into cells. Tomatoes require a cell size of approximately 1 inch square to produce a high-quality, easily handled transplant. These trays or flats are available in a number of configurations and sizes. They may be purchased
Table 4. Plant tissue analysis ranges for various elements for tomato sampled at the first-ripe-fruit stage using most recently mature leaves
Statustatustatus
N
P
K
Ca
Mg
S
Percent
Deficient
2.0
0.2
2.0
1.0
0.25
0.3
Adequate
2.0 – 3.5
0.2 – 0.4
2.0 – 4.0
1.0 – 2.0
0.25 – 0.5
0.3 – 0.6
High
3.5
0.4
4.0
2.0
0.5
0.6
Statustatustatus
Fe
Mn
Zn
B
Cu
Mo
Parts per Million
Deficient
40
30
20
20
5
0.2
Adequate
40 – 100
30 – 100
20 – 40
20 – 40
5 – 10
0.2 – 0.6
High
100
100
40
80
10
0.6
N—nitrogen
P—phosphorus
K—potassium
Ca—calcium
Mg—magnesium
S—sulfur
Fe—iron
Mn—manganese
Zn—zinc
B—boron
Cu—copper
Mo—molybdenum